The present invention relates to fastening devices for cabinet doors and drawers, and more particularly to an improved safety latch device for fastening a drawer or door of a cabinet without need of a screw-mounted attachment and in a completely closed position that is resistant to opening by young children.
For many years now, xe2x80x9cchild-proofxe2x80x9d safety latches have been devised and used, primarily in households, to prevent access by young children to certain cabinet areas that store potentially harmful or dangerous items. These safety latches have been designed to be difficult or impossible for young children to operate but may be easily operated by an adult. Known prior art child-proof latches have required fixed installation, typically via screw attachment, and proper adjustment of two or more separate elements that have been found to be time-consuming and difficult especially in the confined cabinet spaces in which such latches are typically employed. When such a latch is initially installed and then found to be improperly adjusted, it becomes necessary to remove or loosen the latch elements, make the desired adjustments, and reinstall the latch, sometimes marring the cabinet surfaces on which the latch operates. This difficult process of adjustment and reinstallation of prior art latches can prove even more aggravating when the particular latch may be required as a safety closure for only a short period of time or on a temporary basis.
In addition to these problems associated with their installation, previously known child-proof latches have commonly been designed to operate on a door or drawer panel in a fashion that does not close the panel tightly, but rather that allows the door or drawer panel to be opened to a limited extent, after which it is necessary to reach into the drawer or cabinet space and release the latch to enable the panel to be opened further. The release of the latch overtop the slightly open panel is relatively easy for the adult and generally difficult for the young child to manipulate. However, a child, particularly with relatively small hands and fingers, may well be able to reach over the top of the door or drawer panel and release the latch nonetheless through the limited opening provided.
As such, it can be appreciated that there continues to be a need for a new and improved child-proof safety latch for cabinet doors and drawer panels that addresses the limitations of the prior art devices in their implementation and manner of installation as well as in their ease of operation and effectiveness.
Accordingly, it is a general purpose and object of the present invention to provide an improved safety latch for cabinet doors and drawers that is resistant to opening by young children and easier to install than those child-proof latches heretofore devised and developed.
A more particular object of the present invention is to provide an improved child-resistant safety latch that can be easily implemented and assembled for operation upon a cabinet drawer or door panel without any screw or other subsurface attachment.
Another object of the present invention is to provide child-proof safety latch that is effective and able to be assembled for use on a temporary basis whenever and wherever necessary on household cabinets.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a child resistant safety latch that can tightly close a cabinet drawer or door panel without allowing its opening, even slightly, until release of the latch.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a childproof safety latch that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, easy to assemble and implement, and reliable in its operation.
Briefly, these and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by an improved safety latch specially adapted for assembly and use upon a cabinet frame or like facing member to secure a drawer or cabinet door panel in a completely closed position without need for an invasive screw attachment. The present safety latch includes a U-shaped base fitting formed having front and rear walls spaced apart to engage the edge of the cabinet frame therebetween, the rear wall in a preferred embodiment of the latch having a movable pad mounted on the interior side of the wall to clamp the frame and hold the fitting in a stationary position. The front wall of the base fitting is provided with a pair of flexible prong members extended outwardly from the front wall and further formed having opposed wedge-shaped ends. The safety latch further includes an angled clip member adapted to releasably engage the base fitting having an open chamber section formed along the top of the clip member and a wall section depending perpendicularly therefrom. With the base fitting secured upon the edge of the cabinet frame, the chamber section of the clip member engages the prong members along the perimeter of the drawer or cabinet panel intended to be closed and the wall section abuts the front face of the panel locking it in a closed position between the wall section and the front wall of the base fitting. Inward deflection of the prong members through side vents in the open chamber section disengage the clip member from the base fitting and releases the panel to open.
For a better understanding of these and other aspects of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals and character designate like parts throughout the figures thereof.